


Best Friends with My Leader, and in Love with Another!

by Redwhiskering



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Comedy, Drama, F/F, F/M, Forbidden Love, Gay, Gay Cats, Gay Male Character, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-07 12:24:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20309458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redwhiskering/pseuds/Redwhiskering
Summary: Romance around the lake has bloomed. More specifically, for a Greenclan tom named Redwhisker. But he can't let the secret of his attraction to another tom go public. Can Redwhisker keep his love life from the clan and his best friend, the leader? And will he be able to keep up face, even though his romantic interest is from another clan?





	1. Enter Greenclan

**Welcome to my Warriors fic! I've been toying with this story for a few weeks, but it's still in the process of being written. Anyway, this fic's about a gay cat named Redwhisker, so if you're not okay with that stuff, perhaps find another story. Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors.**

* * *

Greenclan had just finished crossing the log that led to the gathering island, the small mass of forest-dwelling cats pushing through the clumped trees and emerging into the clearing. Their big and bushy golden furred leader, Lionstar, guided the group forward, allowing most of his clan to disperse into the crowd of already gathered cats. From beside him, a smaller tom with dark red fur and vibrant green eyes playfully butted his leader's shoulder.

Lionstar jumped slightly, his fur raised a bit, but mellowed out when he saw it was only his clanmate. "Redwhisker," he sighed, rolling his yellowish orange eyes. "Would it kill you not to mess with me right before I have to get up on that tree?"

The dark red tom, Redwhisker, only chuckled back, "Ease up, big guy. This is only your second gathering as leader, and I don't want you fumbling on your words like last time." Lionstar thwacked Redwhisker on the nose with his tail, grumbling under his breath. The smaller warrior cried out indignantly, curling his lip, before smiling, "Well, that wasn't very leader-like of you."

"Oh hush," Lionstar chided, walking toward the tree, upon which two of the other leaders sat upon, conversing. "Wish me luck, friend," he sighed, trodding off and leaving Redwhisker behind.

"That's _best_ friend to you, mister," the red tom said quietly. Looking around, he pondered about what to do. Darkclan hadn't arrived yet, which left the intermingled groups of Streamclan and Mooreclan to talk with. He headed towards the Mooreclan, seeing some familiar faces among the warriors as well as a few Greenclan cats.

"Redwhisker, over here," a meek but familiar voice called out. The red cat's green eyes turned to find the source, and saw a small brown she-cat amidst a few Mooreclanners. He jogged up to her, and rubbed against her side, both of their pelts meshing together in a dark blend of color.

"Shortfur! How have you been? Dad couldn't come to the gathering tonight, but he told me to tell you he still misses you," Redwhisker breathed, nuzzling his sister. "I miss you... without you around, I'm the shortest warrior in the clan!" He playfully bumped her shoulder, earning a smile from his sibling.

"Not my fault Greenclan only has hulking toms and she-cats. Besides, you seem to get along pretty well with them, right? Like you and Lionstar?" Shortfur smiled fondly back at her brother.

"Well of course," the dark red cat responded back, as if it was common knowledge. "How's Mooreclan treating you?

"Well enough, I've already become good friends with most of the warriors, they were very accepting of a Green-cat like me. I'd say the most difficult thing to do right now is hunting, I can't chase a rabbit for a mousetail," she groaned, leaning against Redwhisker's side.

The tom twitched his whiskers, and replied, "You'll adjust eventually. Being on the smaller side means you'll be able to run fast enough to catch your prey, all you need is practice. Now come on, introduce me to some of your friends!"

Shortfur purred and got up, leading Redwhisker with her tail on his shoulder. They approached a group of cats, and Redwhisker identified the scent of Mooreclan. "Hey guys," Shortfur mewed to the cats. They all turned, then looked down at the short legged she-cat and her brother.

"Shortfur! How's your first gathering as a Mooreclan cat?"

"Hey Shortfur, what's up?"

"Who's that tom, Shortfur? He smells like the woods."

The group continued to assault the two with questions, but before they could continue Redwhisker interrupted, huskily saying, "Hey."

That single word seemed to hush the cats, as they all stared intently at Redwhisker. He sat down, licking his ruffled chest fur. It seemed to pop right back out, and he looked up again, continuing, "I'm Shortfur's brother from Greenclan, Redwhisker."

The group stayed quiet for a solid five heartbeats, then a silvery grey tabby she-cat stepped forward, putting on a friendly face. "I'm Cloudpaw, my mentor is one of Shortfur's friends. These are..."

Redwhisker tuned out most of the introductions, his attention suddenly grabbed by something. He absentmindedly greeted each of the cats, then turned to his sister, saying, "I'm sorry Shortfur, but there's something I need to go take care of."

"Oh," Shortfur mewed quietly, and looked longingly at her brother. "Why so soon? You just got here," she murmured, touching her nose against her brother's neck.

"To be honest... I'm not sure. But something is pulling me away from here," Redwhisker responded, somewhat bothered by the sudden feeling of needing to get away.

The she-cat huffed, "Well, tell Greyface I miss him too. And if you see Stonewind, well, I guess you can tell him the same."

Nodding in understanding, Redwhisker turned away and wandered back into the crowd of cats. He knew that his sister and brother, Stonewind, had a somewhat rocky relationship. Yet, the family was still close.

Redwhisker pulled himself out of his thoughts, and suddenly found where he had wandered to. Or rather, where the notion had directed him: the bottom of the huge oak tree upon which the leaders sat upon. He looked up, walking closer, and saw three of the leaders up on the branches. Lionstar sat on one branch, while the tom Whitestar of Streamclan and sandy colored she-cat Beachstar of Mooreclan sat together on another facing the Greenclan leader. Beachstar seemed to be somewhat obscured behind Whitestar, as the Streamclan leader was quite tall, and she was on the smaller side.

The red tom's green eyes searched for whatever was drawing him closer to the tree, but found almost nothing. His focus was still on the branches, and as he came within a few tail-lengths from the base of the tree, something caught his eye.

A small and thin branch stuck out between the two thicker branches the leaders were sitting on. What was curious about it was on the end, the tip of the thinnest part of the twiggy branch. It was reflecting light, as if some liquid was on the end, catching the moonlight.

Redwhisker stared at the reflective tip of the small branch seated between the two larger ones. The reflectiveness seemed to waver, as a warm gust of green-leaf air blew through the island. _Could it be tree sap?_ Redwhisker contemplated what it was, staring directly at it, before a peculiar thing happened: it dropped down from the tree, a small drop of liquid, and splashed on the top of the red cat's nose.

He flinched from the impact, his eyes instinctively closing at first, then he opened them. "That tree sap had a mind of its own," he said quietly to himself. He inhaled deeply through his nose, expecting to smell the signature smell of sap, but his eyes widened as his senses were surprised. _The scent of... blood? Where did that come from?_

Somewhat anxious from the blood dripping on his nose, Redwhisker looked up, and saw something that made his skin crawl. The small branch had become covered in the shiny red liquid, and the two bigger branches that the leaders were resting on had begun to leak blood, streaming down the gathering tree and getting into its bark. He looked up at it, his mouth wide open and his heart sinking.

"_Blood… it shall remain dormant until this kit becomes caught between two homes."_

"Redwhisker," a gruff voice called out beside him. "Hey, Redwhisker! What's the matter?"

The shocked tom looked to his side, and saw his deputy, Rockpelt, who was giving him a strange look. Redwhisker stammered out, "Did y-you not see? It's right there-" he looked back up to the tree, and much to his surprise, nothing was there. Not a speck of blood. The three leaders were talking up in the branches, undisturbed.

Puzzled, the deputy asked, "What's right where?"

Redwhisker turned back to Rockpelt, at a loss for words. He swiped his paw across the top of his nose, then looked at his pad. It was all dry, and his nose didn't feel wet like it had a moment before. _There's no blood. The blood I saw and felt, all of it is gone_, the dark red tom thought to himself.

"Look Redwhisker, if you've got nothing to say, I suggest you go back to the crowd, the roots of this oak tree are reserved for the deputies, and I imagine the gathering will start once Darkclan gets here," Rockpelt sighed, his deep voice pushing the red tom out of his thoughts.

He looked back at his deputy, and saw the two other deputies giving him strange looks. Smiling nervously, Redwhisker said, "Oh yeah, sorry Rockpelt, there was a bird. A, uh, big bird. It just flew off." His half-baked lie seemed to convince Rockpelt, to his relief. He turned tail, and quickly stalked off into the crowd.

_What a strange omen… I wonder if anyone else saw it? It didn't seem like the leaders noticed, and it disappeared as soon as Rockpelt talked to me. Perhaps I'll ask Morningheart about it later. _The tom's attention was suddenly drawn to the bushes at the island entrance as they rustled, and in walked Darkclan, led by a brown tabby tom-cat, Snakestar. The Darkclan leader had scars across his face and flanks, noticeable through his brown fur, and his face seemed to be stoically unchanging and hard.

"Snakestar's a sight, huh? I heard he got his scars from defending his pregnant mate from two badgers while they were outside of camp, without losing a life," a feminine voice whispered from beside him.

Redwhisker turned in mild surprise and saw a familiar silver tabby face, it was the Mooreclan apprentice from earlier. He asked, "Cloudpaw, right? Yeah, Snakestar sure is cool. He's old, but still young enough to empathize with younger generations like mine or yours." He situated himself so that he was sitting next to the apprentice, their pelts almost touching.

Cloudpaw nodded slightly awkwardly, then spoke up, "Yeah. Speaking of generations, how old are you, Redwhisker?"

"I haven't reached more than a few seasons after becoming a warrior," came his reply. "I've seen a few Leaf-bares."

"Oh, cool," Cloudpaw responded, then continued, "Glad to hear it actually. When I first saw you walk in with Lionstar at your side, I thought you might be the senior warrior deputy some Moorecats talked about a couple moons ago. But I see he's that older grey cat over in the tree roots, correct?"

Redwhisker uneasily looked back at the gathering tree, and saw Rockpelt grooming himself. He answered, "Yep, Rockpelt's the deputy. Not me." He paused, and smiled to himself, looking back at the silver she-cat. "Hey, wanna know a secret?"

Cloudpaw looked surprised, then nodded vigorously.

"Lionstar and I were actually in the nursery together at one point," Redwhisker whispered closely in her ear, which seems to give the she-cat chills.

The gears in Cloudpaw's head seemed to be working hard at interpreting what the Greenclanner has just implied. All at once, a shaken expression set itself upon her face. She turned to face Redwhisker, and in shock, she loudly asked, "You were pregnant with Lionstar's kits!?"

"NO," Redwhisker immediately said back, flattening his ears out in embarrassment as a couple of nearby cats gave him disdainful looks. "That's not even possible, I'm a tom," he huffed quietly this time, his shoulders and neck sagging.

"Silly me," Cloudpaw snorted, "I sometimes have periods where my mind finds faulty answers to, but labels them as correct."

"What I meant was that when I was a kit, Lionstar was four moons old. To be frank, I think he disliked me for the short two months we shared the nursery, but as apprentices and warriors, there wasn't a pair of toms in the entire lake territories who could call themselves better friends than Lionstar and myself. So that's why we were walking across the log together. Lionstar's still young, only a few moons older than me, and quite possibly one of the youngest leaders Greenclan has ever seen," Redwhisker said fondly.

"I see now," Cloudpaw replied, then asked, "Why didn't he like you when you were kits?"

"My birthmother died after kitting," Redwhisker answered curtly.

"...I'm sorry, I had no idea," Cloudpaw started, her eyes taking in a sympathetic look, but was interrupted by the red tom.

"It's fine, honestly. But after our birthmother died, we did not have milk. There was another queen in the nursery at the time…"

_-Past-_

_Three newborn kits were curled up against the lifeless body of their mother, who had died in peace and happiness, naming her kits Stonekit, Redkit, and Shortkit._

"_Morningpaw," the elderly medicine cat called out to her mature apprentice. "I'm afraid there is nothing we can do. Robinfur is gone."_

_Morningpaw thrashed her tail in frustration, then sighed gently, "But Pebblefoot… it's so unfair! These poor kits won't ever know the kindness of their mother."_

_Pebblefoot shook her head at her apprentice, saying, "Life is unfair, my dear. But now, we must preserve what we can. Go get some borage from the store, I have a notion of what must be done."_

_Morningpaw stepped from the nursery and ran to the medicine den, while Pebblefoot turned to the squirming kits. _

_From the other side of the nursery, a golden furred kit was watching the scene from over his mother's back. "Flowerpelt," he mewed softly, his curious amber eyes peering from his obscured point of view, "What's going on?"_

"_My dear Lionkit," the queen responded mournfully. "Robinfur is no longer with us. She has gone to watch over her dear kits in Starclan."_

_Pebblefoot looked up from the kits, and asked, "Flowerpelt, do you think you still have enough milk to keep feeding? I know Lionkit will be an apprentice in no time, and he's eating solid food, but Robinfur's kits cannot survive without someone to provide milk."_

"_I would gladly provide for these kits," Flowerpelt smiled sadly, looking at the body of her friend. "Lionkit's already grown huge, being the only kit to relieve me of my milk, and I still have plenty to spare." _

_Lionkit looked confused, and prodded his mother's side, asking, "Flowerpelt, what's that mean? What are you guys talking about?"_

_Flowerpelt grunted, turning her belly toward the kits, and watched as Pebblefoot picked them up and carried them over. "I'm sorry sweetie," she directed her voice at Lionkit, "But do you mind leaving the nursery for a little bit? Mommy needs all her energy for your new friends." Robinfur's kits moved around at her belly, then began to suckle, just as Morningpaw returned with borage. The medicine cat apprentice gave the herbs to Flowerpelt, who lapped them up, then turned a motherly gaze to the three newborns._

_Lionkit took on an expression of mixed confusion and offendedness, then stalked out of the nursery grumbling, feeling that he had been replaced._

_-Present-_

"...But anyway, the rest of those two moons, Flowerpelt was always so busy taking care of us, she never had the time for Lionkit. I still feel bad about it, even though there was nothing we could do at the time to fix it," Redwhisker finished.

Cloudpaw's eyes were wide with wonder and slight sadness at the story, then she said, "That's a crazy kithood! Compared to yours, mine is a scratch on the shoulder. But how did Lionstar and you become best friends after all of that?"

Redwhisker smirked at the apprentice's curiosity, but looking up at the tree, replied, "That's a story for another time. Look, the leaders are all up there and it looks like they're about to call for it to start."

* * *

**Well, that's all for the first part of the gathering. I've got the second one handy, so it won't be over so fast. **

**Anyway, if you enjoyed or have any constructive feedback, go ahead and type up a comment!**


	2. Light on the Lake

**Here comes the second part to the gathering! And the introduction of a mysterious character...**

* * *

Snakestar hopped up on the branches, his intimidating aura seeming to dominate the thick branches the leaders sat upon. He turned to the other cats in the branches, bowing his head, and whispered, "You three wouldn't mind if I started, did you?" The others shook their heads respectfully, and Snakestar walked to the edge of the branch, yowling out for silence and attention to the trees.

Upon hearing the leader's voice, the mingled cats turned their collective attention to Snakestar, who swayed on the branch. "I would like to start out this gathering with a message to the cats of Greenclan and their leader, Lionstar," the scarred tom nodded back to the golden one, who listened on in mild confusion. "A few days ago, one of my warriors crossed your border after being wrapped up in her hunt. She is here today, to make things right. Cedarheart, if you will."

A light brown she-cat from a group of Darkclan cats stood up, then bowed her head deeply, crying out, "Forgive me, Lionstar! I didn't mean to tread on your territory, and it will never happen again!"

Lionstar let out a warm chuckle and stepped forward on the branch, declaring, "I'll be merciful, Cedarheart. I understand that if I was in your place, my main focus would be getting prey back to the nursery to feed… is it your second litter of kits, Snakestar?"

The Darkclan leader beamed, and nodded. "Yes, indeed. But that is old news, other than that, Darkclan has no news to report."

"That's what's so great about Snakestar, Cloudpaw whispered from beside Redwhisker. "He's responsible, respectful, and a big enthusiast of family." Redwhisker nodded, feeling some of the pride the Darkclan leader was projecting.

"I'll go next," Lionstar said, watching Snakestar jump back to the trunk. "Greenclan has good news. One of our queens, Grassfur is now the mother of her and Longears' three healthy kits: Gingerkit, Poppykit, and Leafkit."

The clans mewed happily at the new life, then quieted down as Lionstar retreated, letting Beachstar have the branch. She stepped forward gingerly, saying, "Mooreclan has little news, except that we've chased a badger from our territory off our territory away from the clans. That is all."

Mews of approval echoed through the clearing, and quieted down as the sand colored Mooreclan leader stepped back, giving way to the tall and smooth furred white tom, Whitestar. He stepped forward, and in a smooth voice, he spoke, "Streamclan's prey is plentiful in this time of greenleaf, and I'm happy to announce that we have one new warrior, Mossclaw…"

Redwhisker stared up at the Streamclan leader as he spoke in his smooth and low voice, gazing with something of an unknown perspective. _When has this cat's voice been so… comforting? _He looked closely at the tall tom, his own green eyes staring into Whitestar's eyes. If Redwhisker had to guess from that distance, they were a soft smoky yellow, almost like his friend Lionstar's amber ones, except less intense. Then, a spectacular thing happened to Redwhisker. Whitestar's gaze, which had been wandering around the crowd of cats, landed on the dark red tom's. Then, the leader smiled, and continued talking. The shared eye contact gave Redwhisker a brief feeling of reassurement, almost like the Streamclan cat was talking to him. _What an amazing aura Whitestar resonates, _Redwhisker thought.

"...That is all from Streamclan." The cheering of Mossclaw's name rang out, and died down as Beachstar once again took the place on the edge of the branch.

"Cats of the four clans," she proclaimed in her elderly voice. "You may have noticed that there was an extensive period of time for you to mingle with cats of other clans before our gathering started, and there is a reason."

Redwhisker _had _noticed that prior to Snakestar starting, the leaders were taking an awfully long time to get ready. Nonetheless, he awaited the rest of Beachstar's speech curiously. She continued, "The other leaders and myself have been discussing, and we've seen that we are in a current in a long period of peace, and we have good relations with our neighboring clans. Therefore, we have decided to try a method strengthening the bonds further, while staying in the lines of the warrior code and the boundaries Starclan has set for us."

At this point, most of the warriors present were curious at the old leader's words, eager to learn of the leaders' plans. "We are proposing an event that takes place at night, once every moon, on the day of the shadowed new moon. During this event, any cat from the clans will be allowed to come to the gathering island, staying within two fox-lengths of the lake of course. Here, cats will be allowed to get together peacefully under Starclan, and any cat will be allowed to climb the oak tree us leaders sit upon, and tell stories or entertain other cats."

Whitestar nodded humbly, and said alongside her, "Streamclan will not chase out any cats from other clans from the lakeshore. Only on these two nights of the new and full moons shall we let you pass without question."

Cats in the clearing immediately broke out in talking and chattering, some confused and others happy. From among the bustle, Snakestar called out, "This gathering is done, Darkclan, let's go!" A few cats slowly shifted from their places while chatting with other cats, but most took their time.

From besides Redwhisker, Cloudpaw asked, "Do you think you're going to come on new moon? I think it would be fun, getting to know some other cats some more and listening to them tell stories."

"Yeah," Redwhisker said absently, looking at the white furred Streamclan leader hop down from the tree. To the red tom, Whitestar seemed elegant, but he noticed that now that the leader was off the tree, he seemed less outgoing. Perhaps the cat was tired, Redwhisker decided. "What were we talking about?"

Cloudpaw seemed annoyed that Redwhisker was distracted, and restated, "The new moon event. Are you coming to it?"

"I'll be there, maybe I'll even attempt to entertain the crowd," Redwhisker nodded, his full attention on Cloudpaw now.

The silvery apprentice nodded at the short tom, her eyes taking on a strange glint as the full moon reflected in her dark eyes. Redwhisker seemed not to notice and politely excused himself from her side, going back into the dispersing crowd of cats.

Darkclan and Mooreclan had slowly filtered out, along with most of Streamclan and Greenclan. The island became still as the last few cats left the island, Redwhisker expertly climbing on top of the log. While most Greenclan cats had it in their training to learn to climb trees, Redwhisker was especially good at it. His physique, smaller than most Greenclan warriors, let him weave through tree branches quickly and effectively. He hopped off the tree bridge, loosely following his clan as they kept to the shoreline, heading upward to their territory.

Redwhisker stopped abruptly, his paws sinking lightly into the sandy beach. He was still bothered by the strange vision he had seen on the oak tree, blood leaking from the two big leaders' branches. _It's too weird to dwell on,_ he thought to himself, shaking his head slightly. Greenclan was gone from his sight, and the lake glimmered beautifully. _At least the lake is a nice sight._

A tired but masculine voice grunted from behind Redwhisker, "Come here often?"

* * *

**Oho! Looks like Redwhisker's been found out by a cat from another clan. What will the repurcussions be?**


	3. Come Here Often?

**Uh-oh... looks like our protagonist has been found out! But by who?**

* * *

"Come here often?"

Redwhisker's blood froze as he heard the voice behind him. _Drat my poor sense of smell! _His thoughts were true, he had a bad scenting ability, and thus another warrior was able to approach him without the dark red tom noticing. Redwhisker decided to try and turn around, as well as avoid any unnecessary fighting with the warrior who had found him. Slowly, he turned around, his shoulders slouched in a non-threatening manner.

Whitestar looked at Redwhisker with a confused but casual look. Redwhisker's jaw went slack as he realized that the leader of Streamclan had caught him on his territory, and his already iced veins seemed to shatter. Whitestar merely padded up to the shore and sat on his haunches, licking his paw and smoothing back his head fur. He looked to his side at the red tom, and in a tone with a hint of sarcasm, he asked, "Well? Do you talk?"

"I-I'm so sorry for disturbing Streamclan territory, Whitestar! I'll take whatever punishment you see fit for trespassing on you- I mean, your clan!" Redwhisker's loud wobbly voice begged forgiveness, but it was met rather coolly.

"Don't talk so loud," Whitestar said, his tiredness clear in his tone, "You might scare the fish. But you're not disturbing the territory. And you're most certainly not disturbing me. In fact, why don't you stay a while?"

Redwhisker's shock was apparent. _Did the leader of Streamclan just give me the clear to chill in his territory? _He opened his mouth to say something, but ended up simply staring at Whitestar, a tightness in his throat stopping him from speaking.

Redwhisker's vision focused on Whitestar, the tall white Streamclan leader. He had put his paw down, and was silently staring out at the glimmering lake. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and Whitestar's smooth fur seemed to glow under the combined moon and starlight. _Whitestar has really nice fur. I've never seen him this close, and now he's only a tail-length away from me. And he's tall, not big like Greenclan cats, but… maybe if his fur was fluffy and messier, he'd resemble Lionstar's mass._

After what seemed like forever in a comfortable silence, Redwhisker asked slowly, "So, ah, Whitestar. I mean no disrespect, but what's a clan leader doing out this late?"

"Your curiosity is fair, Greenclanner. To be truthful, I don't know how I found my paws at these shores. Perhaps I was seeking an answer from Starclan," he pondered to himself. He turned his head, staring Redwhisker straight in the eyes. His eyes, smoky yellow as they were, seemed to be clear and without obscurity.

_Those eyes are smiling at me,_ Redwhisker thought, completely getting over his shock at meeting the leader alone. After a moment of hesitation, the dark red cat's shiny green eyes picked up a faint aura from Whitestar. Where his sense of smell was inconsistent, Redwhisker had keen eyes, and was an avid reader of body language. Looking past the aura of leadership he had originally seen from the white cat, he saw the same tiredness, slightly drooping long ears, a weary curl in his lip, and an unkempt tail, a sign that he had been dragging it around.

"Whitestar," he started, making a risky move. He'd attempt to talk to the leader like he would with any other warrior, there was something clearly off about Whitestar. "Why are you really here?"

The Streamclan leader's whiskers twitched in surprise as he heard the informal tone in Redwhisker's voice. There was a short period of silence before Whitestar bowed his head shamefully, murmuring in a low voice, "I'm a selfish cat."

Redwhisker shifted closer to the slightly distraught leader, laying his tail on his shoulder sympathetically.

Whitestar looked out at the sparkling lake with old pain in his eyes. He breathed, "I came out to the lake to see how deep the water goes, how many of my lives would it claim. And perhaps Starclan would let it all happen, knowing they chose the wrong cat to lead the clan."

Redwhisker figured out immediately what Whitestar was implying about what he would've done, and took on a look of horror. "B-But…" He stammered, trying to comprehend why a leader would want to take their lives. "But you're still youthful! And the clans are more peaceful than ever, it's Greenleaf, and you've got cats who care for you!"

Whitestar only sighed grimly, and replied, "I miss being a warrior. Perhaps I miss it too much. Being leader changed everything. When I first stepped into the leader's den, it was terribly lonely. I was no longer sleeping close with my friends, and no cat would come visit me. And soon enough, my friends began distancing themselves from me. I was their leader, and a good one at that. But that meant I never got to be the playful cat I once was."

Redwhisker sat, listening to Whitestar's sad story. _I don't think I could imagine being in his paws, seeing my friends edge away from me in my position as leader._ He stayed silent, letting the tall white cat gather his thoughts.

"I'd train them, the way we used to train together as warriors. But there wouldn't ever be laughing or playing around like we had done moons before. It hurt me, seeing them like that to me," Whitestar said, standing up on all fours, briefly shaking his pelt. He stepped forward briefly, approaching the wet sand. "I suppose if a leader can only lead and fight well, but not maintain friendships and love throughout his days, he isn't suited to be a leader at all."

"Don't be like that, Whitestar," Redwhisker mewed, stretching out his emotions and trying his best to console the white cat. His gaze then picked up on where the leader was standing, the light tide lapping at his paws. "Also, come back over here."

Whitestar looked over his shoulder, a sad smile on his face. "Thanks Greenclanner. You're the first cat in moons who's talked to me like a normal cat. It was nice having one last decent conversation." With that, Whitestar plodded slowly into the shallow sandy water.

Redwhisker felt a sudden surge of energy enveloping his limbs. He had never been excellent at tackling or pouncing in his battle training, but the sudden rush of energy seemed to give him enough of a boost as he pelted forward. Whitestar turned his head back at the noise of Redwhisker, only to see the smaller cat flying through the air in a huge pounce at himself. The Streamclan leader had no time to react as the dark red cat bowled him over. Thankfully, they were still in a somewhat shallow area.

Whitestar looked mildly dazed from the powerful tackle the smaller cat had performed on him, then shook his head as he gazed upward. He was on his back in the shallow water, the lake up to his belly fur. Redwhisker was above him, pinning him down despite his size, which was a minor surprise to both of them. The dark red cat's face was plastered with a look of ridiculous determination and fear, and he leaned closer, solemnly saying, "I will be your mentor. And I will teach you how to be friends with other cats again. But you can't come back to the lake and try to take your lives."

The Streamclan leader narrowed his eyes, sighing, "That's awfully kind of you, Redwhisker. Why?"

"Because I know how cats feel," he answered promptly. "Because of my size, I was forever the odd cat out in training, no one wanted to be with me. I thought it would be the end of the world, until I noticed one tom, Lionstar who was Lionpaw at the time, who looked at me like any other cat. He didn't care that he was a senior apprentice and wanted to be friends with the one cat who was excluded by everyone else. He saw me for who I was, and I saw him for who he was. No boundaries of respect or hierarchy. And now you need to keep looking at cats like they are your friends, not your subjects."

Whitestar listened quietly, with neutral eyes. After a pause, he commented, "It looks like we've both been through roughness in life."

"Yes," Redwhisker nodded, "We have. I need you to know something, Whitestar. You'll be happier joining Starclan long from now with peace on your conscious brought on my returning to your old friends than you will be dying this moment, and living out the rest of time in the stars, sad, alone, and without peace."

"_You speak like a leader."_

Redwhisker whipped his head around at the ominous voice that seemed to be coming from behind him, but there wasn't another cat in sight.

"You speak like a leader," Whitestar spoke, sending chills down Redwhisker's spine. "You've changed my mind, Greenclanner. I think I would be pleased if you taught me to 'be a warrior' again. And you have my word, I will not try to drown myself again. Now, would you please get off me?"

Redwhisker noticed at that moment how close up against Whitestar he was, the toms were pressed up against each other belly to belly and their noses were almost touching. Redwhisker hopped off the Streamclan leader in embarrassment, his body heating up. "W-We should meet here again," he said without thinking.

Whitestar's dismal energy seemed to fade at the dark red tom's words, and he got to his feet, striding out of the water. "I'd like that," he responded, taking to the shore and shaking himself off. Redwhisker followed suit as he suggested, "How about at half moon? And perhaps that event at new moon."

"Sounds like a plan. The new moon night will be a good time to make new friends, and be equal to others," Redwhisker added insightfully. He looked up at the moon, and seeing it had shifted significantly from when he was at the gathering, he hurriedly said, "I've got to go before someone notices I'm missing."

The dark red tom brushed up against Whitestar briefly, then turned and began trotting off, up the shore towards Greenclan territory. "Wait," Whitestar said suddenly, calling out after the retreating red tom.

Redwhisker halted in his tracks, stiffening slightly from the white tom's tone. He eased up after a moment, turned around, and asked, "Yes?"

Whitestar called out again, "You know I'm Whitestar. But who are you? I'm getting tired of calling you Greenclanner"

Redwhisker immediately felt embarrassed that he hadn't told Whitestar his name. He shook off the mild frustration, and answered, "Redwhisker, my name's Redwhisker."

"Cute name for a cute tom," Whitestar said slyly, then dashed off before Redwhisker could get in a response. Not that he was able to, for the last few words from the Streamclan leader seemed to leave him speechless.

Redwhisker trotted away, his head spinning. _The leader of Streamclan thinks I'm cute? That's crazy… I'd better get back quick to catch a few winks before morning comes,_ he thought, and scampered off through the Mooreclan shore and into his territory. Through the time he took to get back to camp, Redwhisker had never felt lighter on his feet.

* * *

**Introducing: Whitestar! What kind of relationship will pan out with these two? Leave your thoughts in the review section, it really helps me out!**


	4. Sagefrost and Grassfur

**Now we're back in camp after crossing paths with Whitestar. Also, I could use a couple of OCs! Nothing too outlandish, just some simple cats. More info at the bottom. Without further ado...**

* * *

It seemed that no sooner had Redwhisker laid down in his nest and closed his eyes, that he was shaken awake. He blinked groggily, hearing, "Redwhisker. Come on, Redwhisker, wake up. We're going out hunting with Ashtail."

He grumbled, stumbling out of his nest and bumping into the cat who was talking to him. He fully opened his eyes, and observed that it was a bulky she-cat, Sagefrost. Sagefrost was a cat Redwhisker considered his friend, even before the rest of the clan had warmed up to the smaller warrior. She had a completely black pelt, with a white tip on her tail. Redwhisker thought she would've made a fine stalker and hunter too, except she never got used to hunting with her large size.

"Coming, coming," Redwhisker grumbled. The previous leader, Rainstar, had made the two cats hunting partners to cope with their flaws, Redwhisker's poor scenting abilities and Sagefrost's awkward stalking. Even after his death, Sagefrost and Redwhisker continued to go about outside the camp together.

Ashtail, a senior warrior, was impatiently waiting for them at the entrance. "Took you long enough," he said as they were approaching. "We're going to hunt in the woods close to the Mooreclan border, perhaps we'll catch a rabbit. Alright, let's go."

The three took off into the woods, and not long after came to the edge of the woods. They halted at the treeline, looking down the grassy hill to the stream that divided Mooreclan from Greenclan. A few cats were walking down the stream renewing the scent markers, but other than that, the day was quiet. Ashtail split off from the group, going back into the woods.

Sagefrost put a tail on Redwhisker's shoulder, indicating they should do the same. She quietly led him through the woods in an opposite direction from Ashtail, down Greenclan territory toward the lake. After a few minutes of walking, she froze, sniffing the air deeply. On routine, Redwhisker stopped moving as well, letting Sagefrost taste the air. She pointed her tail and whispered, "Three foxlengths that way, there's a robin perched on an oak tree. And four more foxlengths in that general direction is a squirrel on a tree's roots."

Redwhisker nodded, and crept forward, jumping up into the low branches of a tree. He weaved his way up a little bit higher than the robin in the neighboring tree, which he could now see. Creeping out silently onto a branch above his prey, he waited for the robin to stop hopping about. Once it had stopped for a solid heartbeat, he dropped down on it, snapping its neck with a precise paw to the back of its head. He shoved the bird off the branch after a quick thanks to Starclan, then kept along the tree, prowling forward on the branches and coming out on the other side of the trunk. He effortlessly sprung from his branch to the next branch, ending up on the tree above the squirrel.

Creeping down the trunk, Redwhisker hissed as a piece of bark dislodged itself and fell to the ground next to the squirrel. The small animal got spooked, and scampered away. Redwhisker cursed his luck, but was surprised as to what came next.

A huge black paw slammed down on the squirrel's neck, killing it instantly. Sagefrost emerged from the shadow of an oak, a smile of satisfaction on her face. "It's been too long since I've had prey just running into my paws," she smirked, then added in a coy voice, "That was planned, right?"

Redwhisker hopped down onto the soft earth forest floor, and trotted over to his hunting partner, sharing her coy smile. "What are you talking about? Of course that was planned," he snorted, and began digging a shallow hole to toss the robin and squirrel into.

The sun had moved significantly in the sky by the time the two deemed they had caught enough prey. Using their combined hunting technique, they'd caught a pair of robins, a squirrel, three mice, and another squirrel just outside of camp while they were returning. They strolled through the bramble barrier, and were met with a few cats laying around camp and sharing tongues. They got nods of surprised approval at the size of their catch, and deposited them on the fresh-kill pile. Sagefrost picked up two of the mice, and headed to the elder's den, flicking her tail in farewell.

Redwhisker suddenly remembered there were no apprentices, but there was a nursery with a queen to feed. He picked up the recently caught squirrel, trotted over to the nursery and poked his head in. It was pretty warm in there, but then again, it was the middle of the day in greenleaf, that was about as hot as it could get.

He spotted a dazed Grassfur, her spiky tortoiseshell pelt seeming as if it had been neglected. Her three small kits were tumbling around her, playing about and not seeming to notice the heat. She almost didn't notice when Redwhisker went right up to her, and laid the squirrel down in front of her. "I brought you a squirrel, Grassfur. It's a recent kill, so hopefully it hasn't been spoiled by the heat.

Grassfur snapped out of her daze, and met Redwhisker's bright green eyes. She looked at him with a kind but tired look, her kits had obviously been keeping her from getting the rest she needed. "Thank you my dear," she mewed warmly, in such a way that it might've comfort been capable of comforting a fully grown cat. She bit into the squirrel gratefully, then stopped and looked back up to Redwhisker, who had almost left. "Wait, Redwhisker? Can I ask a favor from you?"

Redwhisker turned around in the nursery, fairly easily due to his small size. He asked, "Sure, Grassfur. What would you like from me?"

The black and orange queen sighed heavily, gently pushing a few bouncing kits off of her belly, "Well, it's been an awfully long time since Longears came into the nursery to watch the kits. He accidentally stepped on poor Poppykit's tail, and now he's frightened he might hurt another kit. Would you do me the favor of watching my kits while I went for a stroll in the forest?"

Redwhisker felt sympathy for the queen, it must not be easy to be in her position. He gladly gave a "Yes," and walked over to the kits while the relieved Grassfur got up, shaking out her fur and trotting to the nursery entrance, slipping out.

The kits hadn't noticed their mother was gone, they were wrapped up in seeing who could snap a stray stick that wound up in the nursery. Of course, they were making little to no progress due to their size, they had only opened their eyes a few days ago. Redwhisker laid himself on the ground next to them, purring in amusement as he saw all the tiny bite marks in the stick. He decided to get their attention after a moment, and he picked up the stick from where the kits had it, eliciting cries of confusion, took it between his jaws, and snapped it cleanly, letting the two broken pieces fall in front of him.

Redwhisker's action seemed to grab the attention of the kits as they stared at him in awed confusion. To his surprise, even though each of the kits had different pelts, they all had varying green eyes. He shook off his surprise, and swept his tail around the speechless kits, chuckling to himself. There were two she-kits and a tom, the first and biggest of the she-kits was an orange tabby with murky green eyes the color of a fern. The second she-kit was white with splashes of orange on her back, her eyes were a dull green, like the color of dried grass. The runt of the litter, a solid smoky black tom with long ears, had the brightest blazing green eyes he had ever seen on a kit. They reminded him of his own.

The biggest kit, the ginger tabby, was the first to close her wide open mouth. No sooner had she done so, she asked, "Where did Grassfur go? How'd you break that stick? What's your name? Are you an apprentice?"

Redwhisker chuckled from the curiosity of the kit, and replied, "Slow down, ask your questions one at a time. But first, what are all your names?" He had a notion as to which kit was which, but he wanted to be sure.

"I'm Gingerkit," the first she-kit said. She pointed to her sister with her tail, saying, "That's Poppykit, and the black one is Leafkit."

"Are you… our dad?" Poppykit questioned Redwhisker in a shy voice, pulling her tail under her forepaws. He recalled that their father, Longears, had accidentally stepped on her tail.

"No, I'm not your dad. I'm Grassfur's friend, and I'm taking care of you until she gets back. She just went out for a walk in the woods," Redwhisker explained, then tilted his head to his side and began grooming his shaggy fur.

"Leafkit, stop staring!" A squeaky kit voice came from in front of him, but he could tell it wasn't directed at him. Still, he was curious as to what Leafkit was staring at. So he stopped mid-lick, and turn to face the black kit with big ears. The kit was staring right back at him, his wide emerald eyes stuck on Redwhisker's identical ones. "Leafkit," Gingerkit said impatiently, "I told you to stop staring!" With that, the she-kit swatted at Leafkit's big ears and playfully tackled him, keeping her claws sheathed. Leafkit squealed as he was bowled over by his sister, and the two began to playfight.

Poppykit huffed, and merely curled up against Redwhisker, not wanting to play with her siblings. She asked in her squeaky kit voice, "Wait, what's your name?"

"Redwhisker," he replied simply. His head thudded down suddenly, he had become very tired. He hadn't slept very long the last night, and had been drained from his hunting session. _Last night, that's right,_ Redwhisker thought. He remembered meeting with Whitestar and agreeing to meet on the half moon. He also remembered the strange omen he saw on the gathering oak. _I'll talk to Morningheart when I wake up_, he thought while yawning.

"Does that mean you're a warrior? But you look like an apprentice in comparison to the other warriors we've seen," Gingerkit's voice came into his thoughts, she had Leafkit pinned on his back and had paused the game.

"I'm just a small warrior. It doesn't mean I'm less capable though," he sleepily murmured. He was vaguely aware of Leafkit turning the tides and rolling Gingerkit onto her back, both playfully shrieking as they tumbled around. Poppykit pressed against his belly and dozed off about the same time he did, his tail subconsciously wrapping around her to block any incoming wrestling kits from disturbing her sleep.

* * *

**Alright! So, if you do wish to submit an OC or cat you've come up with, here's a small set of guidelines:**  
-Clans: Greenclan, Darkclan, Streamclan, and Mooreclan  
-Please don't give a cat a name like Frozensparkle or Kangaroopaw.  
-List a cat's role within the clan(elder, warrior, etc.)  
-For Greenclan, the nursery, apprentice's den and medicine den are not accepting OCs. It might impede on the story.  


**And I can't promise that all cats will be included in the story, sorry!**

**Anyway, leave a review if you enjoyed the story! It really helps me out!**


	5. Dozing

**Hey viewers, back again! Looks like Redwhisker and the kits will get along nicely, huh?**

* * *

It was uncomfortably hot when Redwhisker woke up, and when he opened his eyes, he found the reason. All three of Grassfur's kits had cuddled up to him while he slept, and were sleeping quietly. He suppressed a purr of happiness, for it was a heart-melting sight, but he didn't want to wake the kits with the noise. He quietly got up, and exited the nursery without a sound. Once he emerged into the clearing, he saw Grassfur just outside the nursery, fast asleep.

The sun had already set, but all the dens were hot, especially the one for the warriors. It was warm enough outside for a cat to sleep in the open, a couple cats including Grassfur and Sagefrost were doing so.

All at once, Redwhisker's stomach growled loudly. It was a wonder it didn't wake up the cats around him, and he sheepishly trotted over to the fresh-kill pile, picking up a small mouse. He carried it over to the camp entrance, and walked through it. Perhaps the forest had a few cool spots where he could eat and be comfortable. As he passed through the bramble thicket, he noticed the guard, Lilyfoot, with her head on her paws asleep. Redwhisker dropped his small mouse, and prodded the sandy colored she-cat.

Lilyfoot jolted awake, and seeing it was only Redwhisker, she calmed herself. She murmured in a low voice, "Sorry for falling asleep on watch. I just settled down for a moment because it was so hot, and the next thing I know… you won't tell Rockpelt, right?"

Redwhisker shook his head, saying, "No one gains from that. I just wanted to make sure you were awake if anyone else came through."

Lilyfoot nodded gratefully, and resumed her post. Redwhisker padded off with his mouse, heading towards the forested border, thinking he might find cold spots beneath the tree coverage. The moon kept itself high in the sky as he walked through his territory. Finally, he found himself at the cool Darkclan border, the pine trees casting long moonlit shadows over the border. Redwhisker plopped down abruptly, enjoying the cool shade the trees provided. He bit into his mouse, tearing apart its flesh between his strong jaws.

If there was one thing Redwhisker could use in battle, it was his jaw and neck muscles. His mentor hadn't taught him many fighting moves out of fear that his effort would be wasted, and Redwhisker would never use them. Instead, he conditioned Redwhisker's body to become proficient for at least one skill without sacrificing his natural advantage of being conveniently sized for climbing. And so he trained his biting ability and began lifting things with his neck.

His mentor, now the elder Sleetfang, was tough on Redwhisker, but for the right reasons. Redwhisker couldn't practice with most other apprentices because he'd become the designated 'Mooreclan scratching post,' due to his small body, hence the Mooreclan reference. Sleetfang trained his durability instead, hoping that by the end of their training, Redwhisker would have enough muscle hidden in the shaggy fur of his neck to resist a killing bite, should it ever come to that situation. He'd also hoped that Redwhisker could grab and splinter bones as easily as he had done with sticks, but as an apprentice, Redwhisker didn't want to fight any battles if it meant relying on breaking bones to win.

Nonetheless, Redwhisker had a deceivingly strong pair of jaws. Since he was still working on controlling the amount of force he could exert with them, he usually ended up making somewhat of a mess with his prey. Which of course, was what he was doing. The front of Redwhisker's muzzle was crimson with the mouse's blood, blending into his own dark red fur. Since he had started chowing down on the mouse, about half of it ended up on his face and the grassy floor below.

Redwhisker's fur prickled, something didn't feel right. He flicked his ears, pointing them around and trying to figure out what had set off his danger sense. He slowly got up, and backed away from his kill, inching backward. _Is there a fox nearby or something? I need to be ready to climb a tree,_ Redwhisker thought, his eyes wide and scanning from side to side.

"Hey stranger, you sure are a messy eater," a voice called out. "And I'd love to chat at this odd hour, but you're on my territory."

Redwhisker jumped slightly, then frantically looked around for the source of the voice. It was a cat's, and it didn't seem particularly friendly. But it didn't seem hostile either.

"Up here, trespasser," the voice said. This time Redwhisker identified it as a masculine tone, and looked up into the pine trees. From there, he saw two beady blue eyes, the color of the sky. They were watching him observantly with a hint of amusement in them.

Redwhisker growled, "What do you mean, 'trespasser?'"

"I mean you passed the scent markers. Do you have no sense of smell or something?" The tom with sky blue eyes chuckled at Redwhisker's confusion, his full body still obscured by the pine tree's leafy branches.

Redwhisker's ears burned in shame, and he put his nose to the forest floor, sniffing around several trees. Sure enough, he had crossed the border without knowing it. He looked back up to the cat in the pine, opening his mouth to say something about his sense of smell only being slightly poor, but he was interrupted.

"You should go," the Darkclan tom said while dropping down from the tree, "Before the rest of our night patrol gets here."

"Night patrol?" Redwhisker scoffed, "That sounds like a waste of time, if you ask me."

"We like the night, that's all," the tom said, stepping forward briefly out of the shadows. He was dark grey from Redwhisker's point of view, but he thought it could've just been the night making him look darker. "I'll take care of your scent and the… mouse remains. Just get outta here before they come through."

Smart enough to know not to stick around after the Darkclanner said that, Redwhisker turned tail with a nod to the cat, then scampered away until he was positive he was over the border. From there, he climbed his way quickly up into an oak tree, then turned around and watched the border quietly. Sure enough, the grey cat was gone and several more emerged from the shadows, renewing the scent markers then disappearing into the darkness.

Redwhisker decided that he'd had enough stimulation for the night, and headed back to camp. After a while, he began hearing the collected snores coming from ahead, and knew the camp was a good twenty or thirty foxlengths away. But Redwhisker had no desire to try and sleep while there were a bunch of snoring warriors around him. So he laid down then and there, under a tree, and closed his eyes. He let the soft forest noises clear his mind of the border encounter, and fell into sleep.

* * *

When Redwhisker woke up, he immediately noticed something: he was in a warm stone den, not between the roots where he had fallen asleep. He got to all four paws, and shook his fur out. Turning around, he looked up in surprise to see Lionstar, looking at him with a stoic expression. The big golden tom blinked, then turned his eyes away.

Curiously, Redwhisker asked, "Why am I not in the forest?"

Lionstar sat back on his haunches, yawning, then explained, "Well, you weren't here in the morning. Rockpelt was going to send Stonewind, Longears, Sagefrost, and you out on the dawn patrol, but he couldn't find you. So I went out into the forest to look for you, picked up your scent, and found you sleeping. I didn't want to disturb your sleep though, I heard you were taking care of Grassfur's kits yesterday, and I wasn't sure how worn out you were. So I carried you back here and let you sleep."

"Did I really sleep that heavily? I remember back in our apprentice days, you'd sometimes pick me up while I was sleeping. I'd freak out every time," Redwhisker purred fondly, remembering his youth. His purring suddenly stopped as he realized he had missed a patrol and Rockpelt would be mad with him.

Lionstar smiled knowingly, recognizing Redwhisker's face of anxiety, and he said, "Thinking about that patrol, huh? Don't worry, Rockpelt's still in camp. I'm sure he'll find some work for you to do."

"I never had to worry about Dawn patrols when _you _were deputy," Redwhisker huffed, leaning his head outside the den. It was just past sunhigh.

Lionstar rolled his eyes, shoving Redwhisker with a gentle paw. He sarcastically said, "Sorry I made you so soft to those dawn patrols during the two moons that I was deputy. Now get outta here and be a warrior."

Redwhisker stuck his tongue out, but bounced out of the leader's den, down the slope and into the camp clearing. He felt refreshed after all the sleep he had gotten, and was ready to go out run through the forest and hunt with Sagefrost by his side.

"Redwhisker," a stony cold voice said. "You're on nursery duty for a moon. That means making adjustments to the den and making sure Grassfur is fed." The words came from Rockpelt, who was glaring at the small cat who had stopped bouncing.

Redwhisker turned around and exclaimed, "What! But I wanna go out into the forest!"

"You may be my brother's kit, but I make no exceptions," Rockpelt said simply. "There's no good excuse for missing dawn patrol. Especially after you slept all of yesterday."

Redwhisker lashed tail, but walked off without another word. Nothing good would come of an argument with the deputy. He had energy, and he needed to get rid of it if he was just going to be attending the nursery the rest of that moon. He wasn't too upset by the whole ordeal of being on nursery duty itself, since he didn't have any bad relations with any of the den's residents. He thought to himself, _Grassfur usually seems tired. Maybe I can play with her kits after I fix up the nursery?_

Even though Redwhisker had put a few seasons between him and his warrior naming ceremony, he still had a love of playing around. He decided that perhaps that moon wouldn't be too boring if he could spend some time bonding with the new kits, seeing as Grassfur was always tired and Longears seldom visited. He trotted up the nursery and stepped in, the already warm air intensifying.

Grassfur was laying on her side, her kits playing with a ball of moss a tail-length away. She looked up, meowing, "Ah, Redwhisker! What a pleasant surprise, I have to thank you for taking care of my kits yesterday. When I came back, you were all curled up asleep! I don't know how you got them to quiet down, but I'm grateful. I haven't had a walk in the forest as good as the one I had in awhile."

"Always glad to be a help," Redwhisker kindly gestured, tilting his head to the side. "Anyway, I'm on nursery duty for the next moon since we don't have any apprentices. So tell me, is there anything in the nursery that needs to be restored?"

Grassfur thoughtfully looked around for a moment, then said, "I suppose we could use some new moss and clear out the old stuff. I'll have thought of something else by the time you're done, thank you dear."

Redwhisker nodded, and began gathering all the scraps of dried and dead moss. He left alone the ball the kits were playing with, it looked relatively fresh. At one point while he was clearing the nursery out, Gingerkit looked up from the moss ball game, which she was dominating, and noticed Redwhisker. She exclaimed, "Hi Redfur!" The other two kits turned their eyes up from their game, and their eyes lit up when they saw the dark red cat.

"It's not Redfur, Gingerkit," Poppykit stated, matter-of-factly. "It's Red_whisker_."

Gingerkit lowered her perked up ears in embarrassment, but as soon as Leafkit let out a little giggle, she batted at his ears. This shut the little black kit's mouth up rather quickly.

Poppykit looked up at the dark red tom, and with wide murky green eyes, asked, "Have you come to play with us, Redwhisker?"

"I will later, Poppykit. For now, I'm cleaning up your den," the warrior responded. He had gathered a large clump of dry moss, and flicking it with his claw, he sent it flying out of the nursery's opening. All three kits looked awed at his dexterous tossing skill, and they immediately pounced on the moss ball, each kit determined to fend off their sibling and win the moss ball to try and replicate Redwhisker's trick. He chuckled as they swarmed around the small ball, and stepped out of the nursery.

Redwhisker relocated the used moss outside of camp and trotted around in the moods, searching for mossy roots and trunks. He found a few trees next to each other with the desired plant, and began gently tearing them off, not trying to get bits of bark coming off with it.

When early evening had come, he had accumulated a reasonable sized ball of fresh and soft moss. He stretched his jaws open wide, and bit the moss ball, picking it up in one go. It tasted like the earthy bark which it had come from, and evoked nostalgia from his apprentice days.

* * *

**Thus begins Redwhisker's nursery duty, soon to be accompanied by some flashbacks. Stay tuned for more, and leave a review! It helps me out!**

** Also, if you wish to submit an OC, read the bottom notes of Chapter 4 please! Or, visit my profile for a guiding template.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello readers! Thank you for ** **continuing to read my story, and if you like it, show your support with a comment, kudos, or anything like that!**

* * *

_-Past-_

_A scrawny red tom scrambled up the trail to follow his mentor, a grey and white tom with cold blue eyes. "Sleetfang," the apprentice gasped, out of breath. "Are we going to practice with the other apprentices today?"_

"_No Redpaw," the light colored cat replied. "You aren't strong enough to practice with them. Strongpaw is on the verge of his warrior ceremony, Lionpaw is already as big as full sized warrior, and Stonepaw isn't that far behind him."_

_Redpaw heaved a sigh, still catching his breath. "What about Shortpaw? She's small, like me."_

_Sleetfang gave Redpaw a neutral gaze, then looked up thoughtfully. "I actually haven't seen Foxclaw and Shortpaw our practicing together since you were apprenticed. Which is strange, with him being deputy and all. But never mind that, we're solo today. We're doing more climbing and jaw strengthening practice, and neck practice tomorrow."_

"_But we _always _do climbing and jaw stuff. I don't even understand why I need to practice with biting when Stonepaw, Sagepaw, and Lionpaw get to learn cool moves," Redpaw complained. It seemed he had finally caught his breath._

_Sleetfang ignored him, and said flatly, "Your assignment is to climb to the top of this oak tree, bite off the smaller branches at the top, and let them fall to the ground. Once you've gotten twenty sticks, bite into ten of them, until they all turn to smaller pieces. You may rest once you're done."_

"_Okay," Redpaw said, accepting defeat. "What about the other ten?"_

"_Those are for tomorrow. Now, you know I'm doing this because I care about you right? It's not because I want to torment you," Sleetfang mewed sympathetically._

"_Sometimes it's hard to remember," Redpaw admitted truthfully._

"_Some might see you as a small cat with small claws and a lousy sense of smell. And that might be true. But I see you as an advantageously small cat with shaggy fur to protect you from the claws of other cats, and a naturally strong jaw. I'm capitalizing on your strengths so you can shine where most Greenclanners don't," Sleetfang explained._

_Redpaw brightened up at this, as his mentor told him all the things he was good at. "Alright," he said enthusiastically, a new energy in his body. His mentor believed in his strengths! He'd show the other apprentices he could be just as good as they were, that's right!_

_-Present-_

Redwhisker's laughter was suppressed by the ball of moss he had between his teeth. _Ah, I used to be so confident I could match skills with the other apprentices. I believed I could do it all. Then I failed my final assessment and my warrior ceremony got pushed back two moons so Sleetfang could _actually _teach me how to fight, _he thought.

As he pushed through the bramble barrier with the moss in his jaws, it pushed back into the corners of his mouth. It wasn't unpleasant, but actually quite soft. It was unlike the rough back he'd had to crunch through as an apprentice. There would even be days when he'd go to see the younger Morningheart about cuts in his mouth and on his lips. The medicine cat would look both horrified and concerned at how he'd managed to mangle his mouth in such a manner, and her aging mentor, Pebblefoot, would go talk to Sleetfang about his training.

Sleetfang never adjusted his training intensity though. He'd simply wait until his apprentice's wounds had healed, then resumed. _I suppose it toughened my mouth up. Now I don't need to worry about a stray thorn poking me in the cheek and ruining my already flawed eating habits, _Redwhisker thought pessimistically. He emerged into the clearing, shaking off the negative thoughts. They wouldn't do if he was about to enter an environment for kits.

He hopped into the nursery, dropping the big ball of moss. He nudged it to the tortoiseshell queen, and began separating a few clumps off of it, suitable for a nest. Grassfur helped in the process, standing up and shifting the pieces around until a biggish nest had been formed.

"Th-That's a pretty big moss ball," a small voice squeaked from Redwhisker's side. He turned to the owner of the voice, and found himself staring into familiar wide emerald eyes.

That was the first time Redwhisker had heard Leafkit speak to him. The black kit's voice wasn't as high as he thought it would be, but then again, he only had the kit's sisters to pull reference from. "Yes, Leafkit. I got it by gently plucking it from the roots of several trees," Redwhisker said patiently. He was curious as to how this kit thought.

"Trees…" Leafkit mumbled. "I wish I could see the trees. But Mom says we're stuck in the nursery for now. She tells lots of really cool stories about how Greenclan cats are the best at tree climbing!"

Redwhisker couldn't help but smile at Leafkit's enthusiasm. It was refreshing, to say the least, to have more cheerful cats in the clan. Hopefully the kits would stay that way through their apprenticeship. "You'll see them soon, Leafkit. A little patience is all you need," he responded warmly.

Gingerkit and Poppykit seemed to have worn themselves out, and were curled up around each other off to the side of the nursery. Leafkit's attention was suddenly snagged by a leaf that had blown into the nursery by the warm breeze, and he pounced on it.

Redwhisker turned back to Grassfur, and asked, "Have you thought of what else the nursery needs?"

Grassfur nodded her head, analyzing the walls that let the light filter in. "Greenleaf won't last much longer than one or two moons, so I'd like the nursery to be ready for the chills that might come in. I don't want my kits to catch any illnesses. I've got an idea in my mind of how we can maximize temperature control in the nursery."

Redwhisker heard Grassfur's tone change right then, from tired queen to intelligent planner. Grassfur was the deputy after Foxclaw's mysterious death, and before Lionstar, and she had a good reason to hold that spot. She was held in high regard by most of the clan for her cleverness, and her mental skill had saved the clan on multiple occasions, ranging from leaf-bare sickness outbreaks to unbalanced territory disputes.

But now Grassfur resided in the nursery, she gave up her place as deputy since she was expecting kits. Lionstar, being deputy at the time, had only gotten a little over a moon of experience before Rainstar died. And with Grassfur in the nursery, he chose a seasoned warrior, Rockpelt, to be his deputy.

"Get a warrior or two with smooth fur to go with you out into the forest," Grassfur devised, "Then find bramble bushes, anything with long and prickly green vines will do. Bite off the vines and bring them back to camp. Wrap the prickly vines around the nursery, and once leaf-fall and leaf-bare come, the vines will lose their flexibility and become dry, so they'll hold the shape of the nursery. While it won't affect the temperature now, when the cold seasons come along, cats can just stick big beech leaves onto the dried thorns to create protection from the wind and help insulate the nursery."

Redwhisker marveled at how far ahead the former deputy could think. _She's quite smart,_ he thought to himself, then voiced his thoughts, "Greenclan would perish without you, oh wise one."

Grassfur snorted, and rolled her eyes, "Thank you Redwhisker. Though I still have no intention of going back to being deputy. I want more kits, it's so much simpler than commanding a whole clan. But anyway, I know you're the right cat for this job."

Redwhisker seemed slightly surprised, "Oh yeah? What makes you say that?"

"Back in the day when you were an apprentice, rumors of Sleetfang's training methods spread around the camp. Normal apprentices aren't supposed to spend days in the medicine den after a training session," Grassfur mewed, then added, "I heard one time he tied a thick pine branch to the back of your neck with a couple foxlengths of the spiked bramble vines and made you train with it on."

"It was more than one time," Redwhisker said meekly.

"Well, you're the only cat in the clan who's got that level of intimacy with thorns. Now get to it, young one."

Nodding, the dark red tom exited the nursery and headed to the warrior's den. There were only a few dozing warriors, but among them he saw Lilyfoot, her sand colored pelt rising and falling slowly. _She sleeps a lot,_ Redwhisker thought, gently nudging her awake. She jolted, then sat upright, a few pieces of moss falling off of her.

Lilyfoot looked around with dazed eyes, then noticed Redwhisker. "Oh hey," she yawned, shaking herself off. "What's up?"

Redwhisker explained, "I'm on nursery duty, Grassfur says I need a smooth furred warrior to help me collect some prickly vines from the forest. Are you up for it?"

"Sure thing. Let's go," Lilyfoot responded, loping out of the warrior's den and into the intense sunlight. The two made their way through the bramble barrier, and went out into the forest. Soon enough, they found a clumped blackberry bush, ripe with berries and surrounded by prickly vines.

Something seemed familiar at the bush, but he couldn't quite place in his mind how it gave him the feeling. Then, Grassfur's earlier words about Sleetfang's training crossed his mind. He _did_ remember why the blackberry bush seemed so familiar. An old memory crossed his mind.

_-Past-_

_Redpaw followed Sleetfang down a sloping hill through the bright green and brown oak trees of Greenclan. It was a few moons into the red tom's training, and his mentor's methods seemed quite trivial to him. He hadn't learned more than a few different hunting crouches, and battle training was a distant dream to him._

_Instead, Sleetfang's training consisted of seemingly pointless and sometimes painful tasks. Sleetfang however, in the wise air he carried around with him, made the training seem essential and a high priority. Redpaw wasn't sure if his mentor was right about how the training methods would benefit him, and no cat ever listened to his complaints. Except the two medicine cats, Morningheart and the elderly Pebblefoot._

"_We're here," Sleetfang said abruptly, stopping by a blackberry bush. It bore many small, black, juicy berries. Redpaw looked at it in question, then back to his mentor._

_The little cat questioned, "What's so important about this blackberry bush?"_

_Sleetfang did not respond, instead, he picked up a small rock, and flicking it with his claws, he sent it into the bush. "Go get it," he ordered unwaveringly._

_Redpaw looked appalled. "You want me to dive into those prickly vines? You're crazy," he said exasperatedly. He looked at the bush, and at its long green thorns. They were bigger than his claws, and seemed to be hidden under leaves just as much as they were glinting in the sunlight._

"_I said go get the rock, Redpaw. Don't make me toss you in there," Sleetfang replied. _

"_This is an awful idea," Redpaw submitted. He'd seen the nasty side to Sleetfang before, and he'd rather not see it again. _

_The blackberry bush loomed threateningly in front of Redpaw, and his paws seemed to be treading through thick mud while he approached it. A slight warm breeze ruffled the countless leaves, making the whole bush seem alive in the young apprentice's eyes. He stopped just for a moment, fear of the towering bush chewing him up and swallowing him._

_However, that moment of hesitation was enough for Sleetfang to become irked. "In you go," he growled, roughly picking up Redpaw by his shaggy scruff, and forcefully heaving the small cat into the bush. _

_Redpaw yowled loudly as he flailed through the air. He righted himself just in time, his four paws outstretched toward where assumed the ground was, although he couldn't see it through the thorns and leaves. Then, the bush consumed him._

_The sun disappeared as Redpaw crashed through the thick vines, snapping several of them on his way down. His howls were cut short as he hit the dirt, and he immediately crumbled to the cool ground. He painted from the exhilaration of the short trip, and scrambled to his pads. They had taken damage from the thorns, and he hissed softly at the feeling of his pricked pads._

"_Find the rock…" Redpaw whispered his reluctant goal. He wasn't sure how to move from the bush, it seemed every time he took a step, he stepped or bumped into something sharp. His eyes, the only sense he might find useful in this scenario, were clenched shut in fear of getting pricked. His breathing began to pick up. He didn't want to be in that bush forever!_

_Scared, he sank to his belly. His stomach was pricked by this action, eliciting his pained yelps. He buried his face in the rough fur on his forelimbs, still unable to slow his breathing. A tear trickled down his face, followed by another from the other eye. He wanted Flowerpelt. He wanted her to pick him up by the scruff and carry him out of that wretched bush, back to Shortpaw. He so desperately wanted his family's comfort that would not come._

"_Breathe, Redpaw," Sleetfang's rough and distant voice came. "I can hear your breathing, and you need to calm down. Forget about the rock. Just focus on getting out. I can go in there if need be," he said in a more controlled voice. "Just calm down. Use your brain. Take a moment and think."_

_Redpaw tried to obediently follow Sleetfang's advice. He struggled to push the thoughts of his family away, but succeeded in doing so, finally opening his eyes. His tears still came, but his emotions were under control. _

_The bush was not as dark as he thought, he could see dotted bits of light through the darkness. He closed his eyes again, and thought, where had Sleetfang's voice come from? It was… a little bit to the left of his position. Sure enough, through the small splashes of light, he could see bits of Sleetfang's grey and white fur._

_Redpaw knew he wouldn't be able to walk forward without great pain. He'd need a better plan to get through the prickly barrier. He scoured his thoughts for ideas, then a thought of an old medicine den trip crossed his mind. He'd wrenched his shoulder after falling from a tree, and Morningheart was poised over him, ready to fix him up._

_The medicine cat had said, "I need to do this quickly. If I do it slower, you're going to go through a lot more pain than if I do it now, understand?"_

_Redpaw had looked nervously up at her, responding, "Just be gen-"_

_Morningheart had reset his shoulder while he was in the middle of his sentence._

"_That's it," Redpaw thought hopefully, returning to the present. Taking in the new idea and not taking much time to brace himself, adrenaline flowed through his sore limbs as he rocketed forward with his head tucked down._

_Sleetfang heard a crashing through the bush, and looked up just in time to see Redpaw barreling out of the blackberry bush. The red apprentice tripped as he emerged in his wild charge, and violently rolled forward, colliding with Sleetfang's front legs. Redpaw gasped as his rotation was brought to a halt, then sprawled out on his back, breathing heavily. "I made it," he managed to say through his struggle for air. _

"_Yes you did," Sleetfang said, then warmly added, "Good job. The original point of that exercise was to see how you would fare in an unknown terrain with a goal in mind. However, I've changed it. I believe this experience has given you a bit of experience with the importance of keeping your cool while in danger. Remember this always, Redpaw. Be cool. Be relaxed. Be ready to adapt to a new environment should the world push one onto you." With that, Sleetfang padded off towards camp, saying, "We're done for today."_

_Redpaw got to his feet, following Sleetfang, getting to his side. Then, the adrenaline in his body fizzled out, and he dropped to the forest floor with a low groan._

_Sleetfang turned around in alarm at the groan, and saw his apprentice's collapsed state on his side. Redpaw weakly pleaded, "Help… my paws..."_

_The white and grey tom look confusedly at his apprentice before it clicked in his head, and he inspected Redpaw's paws. All four of the small red cat's paws were sticky and soggy with blood, and several thorns protruded from the separations in each pad. Sleetfang winced at the sight, wary of trying to get his apprentice to move again. Eventually, he walked around to the opposite side of the groaning Redpaw, picked him up by the scruff, and carried him like a kit all the way back to camp._

_Morningheart was the first to see the pair of toms enter the clearing, and a look of horror crossed her face as she saw Redpaw limply dangling from Sleetfang's jaws. She sat upright, her fur rising slightly as Sleetfang walked up to the medicine den. He laid down the scruffy red tom in front of her, looking at Morningheart through guarded eyes._

_Morningheart gave a quick assessment of Redpaw, and seeing that he was alive albeit his breathing was rather heavy, she turned up to Sleetfang and hissed, "What did you do to him?"_

_The grey and white mentor absently shrugged, and responded, "It's just a few thorns. But he couldn't walk on them."_

_Sleetfang walked away, and Morningheart sent a disapproving glare after him. Then, she turned to Redpaw's body. His pads were probably worse off than they had ever been, he was slowly bleeding through each of the thorn punctures, and while it wasn't a lethal amount of blood loss, it was significant. Morningheart began her work, set on fixing up her returning patient._

* * *

**Well, today we learned a bit about Redwhisker's past apprenticeship, and how Sleetfang trained him apart from the other apprentices. And if you came for the gay cats, well don't worry, I haven't forgotten. I haven't forgotten about that strange omen he saw at the gathering. Stay tuned, WhiteWhisker will soon be yours!**

**And as always, leave a comment! It could be a question, OC, anything! It helps me out a lot!**


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